Franklin vs. Griffin Agreed To For UFC 126

A pair of “Ultimate Fighter” coaches will look to go to battle Super Bowl weekend as Forrest Griffin returns to action to face Rich Franklin in a light heavyweight bout that will likely serve as the co-main event for the upcoming UFC card on February 5.

While the fight is not official, sources close to the negotiations informed MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that the fight has been offered for the February date. MMAFighting.com originally reported the possibility of the bout on Tuesday.

The only hold up to the process currently is Franklin’s health. The former middleweight champion suffered a broken arm in his last fight, a knockout win over Chuck Liddell, and as of yet according to sources close to the fighter he has yet to be medically cleared for a return.

Assuming that Franklin’s arm will be ready to go in time, the fight with Griffin is the plan for the UFC to move forward with on the Super Bowl weekend card.

Both Franklin and Griffin have had extended layoffs, with the Cincinnati native dealing with the afore mentioned broken arm, while Griffin had shoulder surgery following his last fight, a win over Tito Ortiz in November 2009.

The fight between Griffin and Franklin would likely gain co-main event status for the show most likely to be headlined by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva defending his title against Vitor Belfort.

Earlier this week, MMAWeekly.com confirmed the news that fellow light heavyweights Jon Jones and Ryan Bader would also compete in the February card, and while that will still take place on the show, it will be a featured bout, but not co-main event as originally thought.